::''See also: [[Staff salaries of United States Senators and Representatives]]''

::''See also: [[Staff salaries of United States Senators and Representatives]]''

The website ''Legistorm'' compiles staff salary information for members of Congress. Owens paid his congressional staff a total of $799,365 in 2011. Overall, [[New York]] ranked 28th in average salary for representative staff. The average [[U.S. House of Representatives]] congressional staff was paid $954,912.20 in fiscal year 2011.<ref>[http://www.legistorm.com/member/2801/Rep_Bill_Owens.html ''LegiStorm'', "Bill Owens," Accessed October 1, 2012]</ref>

The website ''Legistorm'' compiles staff salary information for members of Congress. Owens paid his congressional staff a total of $799,365 in 2011. Overall, [[New York]] ranked 28th in average salary for representative staff. The average [[U.S. House of Representatives]] congressional staff was paid $954,912.20 in fiscal year 2011.<ref>[http://www.legistorm.com/member/2801/Rep_Bill_Owens.html ''LegiStorm'', "Bill Owens," Accessed October 1, 2012]</ref>

Biography

Owens was born in Brooklyn, New York. He earned a B.A. from Manhattan College in 1971 and an M.A. from Fordham University in 1974.[2]

Career

After graduating from law school, Owens enlisted in the U.S. Air Force and served as a Captain at Plattsburgh Air Force Base. After completing his service, Owens decided to stay in the North Country, where he built a private law practice, and served as faculty of the State University of New York, from 1978 to 1986.[3]

After making these promises on his campaign website, Owens voted for HR 3962 as one of his first official acts in Congress. HR 3962 has a public option, cuts Medicare benefits, taxes health care benefits and increases taxes on the middle class.

Owens voted in favor of the health care reform bill.[8] 57% of likely voters at least somewhat favor repeal of the health care reform bill, including 46% who strongly favor repeal. 35% of likely voters oppose repeal. 51% of likely voters believe the health care reform bill will be bad for the country, while 36% believe it will be beneficial.[9]

Specific Votes

Fiscal Cliff

Owens voted for the fiscal cliff compromise bill, which made permanent most of the Bush tax cuts originally passed in 2001 and 2003 while also raising tax rates on the highest income levels. He was one of 172 Democrats that voted in favor of the bill. The bill was passed in the House by a 257/167 vote on January 1, 2013.[10]

Campaign donors

Comprehensive donor information for Owens is available dating back to 2010. Based on available campaign finance records, Owens raised a total of $4,797,568 during that time period. This information was last updated on March 23, 2013.[16]

Bill Owens's Campaign Contribution History

Year

Office

Result

Contributions

2012

U.S. House of Representatives (New York, District 21)

$1,968,478

2010

U.S. House of Representatives (New York, District 23)

$2,829,090

Grand Total Raised

$4,797,568

Individual breakdown

2012

Breakdown of the source of Owens' campaign funds before the 2012 election.

Owens won election to the U.S. House in 2012. During that election cycle, Owens' campaign committee raised a total of $1,968,478 and spent $1,939,276.[17]

Analysis

Congressional Staff Salaries

The website Legistorm compiles staff salary information for members of Congress. Owens paid his congressional staff a total of $799,365 in 2011. Overall, New York ranked 28th in average salary for representative staff. The average U.S. House of Representatives congressional staff was paid $954,912.20 in fiscal year 2011.[19]

Staff bonuses

According to an analysis by CNN, Owens was one of nearly 25 percent of House members who gave their staff bonuses in 2012. Owens's staff was given an apparent $31,000.00 in bonus money.[20]

Net worth

2011

Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org - The Center for Responsive Politics, Owens' net worth as of 2011 was estimated between $1,552,031 to $3,691,999. That averages to $2,622,015, which is lower than the average net worth of Democratic House members in 2011 of $5,107,874. His average net worth decreased by 20.69% from 2010.[21]

2010

Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org - The Center for Responsive Politics, Owens' net worth as of 2010 was estimated between $1,985,032 to $4,626,999. Averaging to a net worth of $3,306,015.50 which was lower than the average net worth of Democrats in 2010 of $4,465,875.[22]

National Journal vote ratings

2012

Each year National Journal publishes an analysis of how liberally or conservatively each member of congress voted in the previous year. Owens tied with one other member of the U.S. House of Representatives, ranking 169th in the liberal rankings among members of the U.S. House.[23]

2011

Each year National Journal publishes an analysis of how liberally or conservatively each member of congress voted in the previous year. Owens tied with one other member of the U.S. House of Representatives, ranking 170th in the liberal rankings among members of the U.S. House.[24]

Percentage voting with party

November 2011

Bill Owens voted with the Democratic Party 73.6% of the time, which ranked 179th among the 192 House Democratic members as of December 2011.[25]

Recent news

This section displays the most recent stories in a Google news search for the term Bill + Owens + New York + House

All stories may not be relevant to this page due to the nature of the search engine.

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Personal

Owens and his wife Jane still reside in Plattsburgh, New York. They have three grown children, and four grandchildren.[26]